music

TECHSTARS MUSIC ACCELERATOR ANNOUNCES NEW 2019 CLASS OF MUSIC TECH STARTUPS — AN EXPANDED RELATIONSHIP WITH SONY – AND NEW MEMBERS PELOTON and AVEX

In its third year, Techstars MusicAccelerator announces its new 2019 class of music-based startups, which Fast Company unveiled — listed below. Techstars Music Accelerator is a mentorship-driven accelerator program that partners with some of music’s biggest companies — such as Warner Music Group, Sony, Concord, Bill Silva Entertainment, Silva Artist Management, RecoChoku, Royalty Exchange, Q Prime Management and others to discover, vet and develop tomorrow’s most impactful and innovative music startups. Each year, 9 startups are selected by Bob Moczydlowsky and his team after a six-month, global search. This year’s startups include new applications of artificial intelligence, on-demand manufacturing, augmented reality, music-assisted learning, interactive video, and online music creation.

Startups from the 2017 and 2018 class have since raised more than $40 million in follow-on investment, with the combined valuation of the Techstars Music Accelerator portfolio now surpassing $300 million — evidence of a warming trend in the venture capital markets for music-related startups.

The Techstars Music Accelerator is supported financially and strategically by Techstars and its Member companies. This membership includes some of the global music industry’s biggest players: Warner Music Group, Q Prime Management, Bill Silva Entertainment, Silva Artist Management, Sony, Concord, Royalty Exchange, RecoChoku, AVEX and Peloton.

For 2019, the Techstars Music Accelerator is also announcing an expanded membership and mentor pool, which now includes Peloton, the global technology company reinventing the fitness category; an expanded relationship with founding member, Sony and AVEX, one of the largest music companies in Japan.

Original founding member, Sony, has expanded its membership to include Sony Music Entertainment (USA), Sony Innovation Fund, and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), giving Techstars Music Accelerator companies access to mentorship and strategic help from the broad array of Sony businesses.

Avex has recently founded Avex USA Inc. in Los Angeles to better collaborate with startups/partners in the ecosystem in Los Angeles and the globe. This subsidiary is going to be in charge of investment and partnership development to open Japan/Asia’s market.

Both companies, Peloton and AVEX, are now invested in the Techstars Music Accelerator and actively mentoring 2019 startups, as well as existing portfolio companies.

“We’re excited to work with the Techstars Music Accelerator team and our fellow partners. Because music is such an integral part of the Peloton experience, we feel uniquely positioned to speak to opportunities in the fitness tech platform space. We’re looking forward to both supporting and getting inspired by the Class of 2019.” – Paul DeGooyer, Peloton’s Head of Music.

“We have met great partners including startups/investors/music companies/artists in the last program when we joined as a mentor, which was far more than we had expected. We are so stoked to deepen our relationship in the program and to work with forward-thinking music innovators from around the world to create the future of music together.” – Naoki Osada, AVEX USA INC.

In addition to mentorship and business development support from the aforementioned member companies, the Techstars Music Accelerator portfolio companies also work directly with a pool of more 350 independent mentors who come from Instagram, Google, Universal, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, UTA, WME, Amazon, AEG, Spotify, Microsoft, Splice, BOSE, Apple, Viacom, CAA, Kobalt, Native Instruments and more.

Startups also have the opportunity to work closely with musical artists in the Techstars Music Accelerator Artists-In-Residence program, which includes BOB MOSES, YACHT, BOSCO, POP ETC., DAWN, LITTLE BOOTS, Synyster Gates from AVENGED SEVENFOLD, Brad Delson from LINKIN PARK and Jillionaire from MAJOR LAZER.

Based in Los Angeles, the Techstars Music Accelerator program begins February 4, 2019 and ends on May 2, 2019 with an invitation-onlydemo day, where the ten companies from the 2019 class will present their products to an audience of more than 300 venture investors, music executives and global entertainment technology leaders.

Alongside Bob Moczydlowsky on the Techstars Music Accelerator staff are former music manager and Program Director, Jen Hall, Program Manager Samantha Russo, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence Matt Sandler.

Examples of the Techstars Music Accelerator portfolio companies actively re-shaping the music industry include:

Endel, partnering with WMG’s Arts Music division to create and release a series of one-hour sleep soundscapes aimed at reducing anxiety and improving mood. Investors in Endel include Amazon’s The Alexa Fund, among others.

The Music Fund provides an automated platform that uses a data-driven smart-pricing algorithm to offer up-front cash for a portion of any artist’s royalty stream income. The purchased assets are added to an institutional-class fund that gives investors broad exposure to the music industry through quarterly dividends that aren’t correlated with the stock market.

Founders: John Funge and Thomas Jerde

Noteworthy: Independent artists make up an ever-growing share of global consumption. Offering those artists the ability to sell partial shares of their future income is an attractive asset class for investors.

Using AI to separate, classify and up-res audio for the purpose of audio search, discovery, recommendation, personalization, and quality enhancement. Works with studio as well as UGC audio and potentially even live mobile communication (video conferencing or phone calls).

Founders: Meaghan White, Lindsay Watt, and Christopher Gage.

Noteworthy: In addition to helping create new audio and music, artificial intelligence will also revolutionize the way audio is processed, compressed and delivered and reconstructed.

Inklocker is like AWS for custom-manufacturing — providing a decentralized global network of on-demand manufacturers. Sell the shirt online to customers world-wide, carry no inventory, have products produced and shipped locally to the buyer.

Founders: Brandon Sowers and Tim Fillmore

Noteworthy: The combination of rapid improvements in direct-to-garment printing as well as the gig economy offer incredible opportunities for creators and producers of direct-to-consumer products.

Replica uses Artificial Intelligence to create the next generation of games, films, music, and other media. Their technology provides creative people with access to millions of ‘Replica’ voice actors on demand.

Founders: Shreyas Nivas, Riccardo Grinover and Keni Mardira.

Noteworthy: Can artificial intelligence be used to create new revenue streams for artists, actors and influencers?

Interactive video software. Rhinobird’s focus is to design interactive video players that engage audiences with the screen more than any other video player in the market. By delivering multi-video reproduction and multi-angle synchronization, together with tools for user interactivity, Rhinobird is helping leading content creators and media platforms innovate and engage with their users.

Founders: Felipe Heusser and Sebastian Echeverria

Noteworthy: Media companies are launching their own branded streaming services left and right — but how do those broadcast style video experiences compete/compare with interactive social media stories?

EmbodyMe is building an app called Xpression, which will allow you to create realistic imaginative videos with deep learning. Pick any video from YouTube — and use your face to control the face of the person in the video in real-time — and then record and share the new video.

Founders: Issay Yoshida

Noteworthy: The age of video remixing — where the contents of the video can be controlled — is coming.

Founded in 2012, Peloton is a global technology company reinventing fitness by bringing the energy and benefits of studio-style workouts to the convenience and comfort of home. With more than 11,000 live and on-demand classes, taught by a roster of elite instructors, Peloton delivers real-time motivation and curated playlists from the world’s best artists. The brand’s immersive content is accessible through the Peloton Bike, the Peloton Tread, and Peloton Digital, which provide a full slate of fitness offerings, anytime, anywhere, through an iOS app or the web. Headquartered in New York City, Peloton is changing the way people get fit through a comprehensive and socially-connected experience that makes every workout both efficient and addictive. The company has a growing number of retail showrooms across the US, UK and Canada. For more information, visit www.onepeloton.com.

ABOUT AVEX

Avex manages superstar artists, produces major festivals, operates music and video streaming services and owns and distributes music globally through its family of affiliated labels. It’s one of the most influential music companies on the planet, an innovative force in Japan, and an emerging investor in global startups.

Lots of great Techstars Music III applications so far! The deadline to apply is coming up on October 14th. The best companies are born from blood, sweat, and tears. For those working away, there are a few areas we’re particularly interested in exploring…

1/ New Music Experiences – Mobile devices allow us to bring music everywhere. Planes, trains, automobiles, and beyond. We now need to look beyond the app. How does music change, leveraging enabling technology like Alexa? Livestream? VR/AR?

2/ Creation & Collab – 54% music-making US households. 100s millions people play music worldwide. 1B+ consume music content daily. How do we better create, share, and consume music/video content?

3/ Marketing & eCommerce – Music merch alone represents > $3.1B annual sales. Going beyond that, we still have a problem connecting artists with fans to build community and commerce channels. FB, Insta, Snap, and Twitter are great. But what else can we do?

5/ Content Infrastructure – 5B people now have mobile devices. Though hardware, connectivity, and data plans aren’t created equal. How do we build better infrastructure to render and deliver media to fans around the world?

6/ Machine Learning & AI – Companion AI for music is here. See @ampermusic @popgunlabs @pacemaker. Where can AI/ML help creators? Post-production? Voice? Video? What else can we build with the ever-increasing mountains of data available to us?

7/ Healthcare – Music is starting to be used in treatment for physical, emotional, and cognitive issues – from elderly Alzheimer’s patients, to military vets dealing with PTSD / depression, autism, and beyond. Early days, with massive opportunity for double bottom line impact.

8/ Artist Discovery & Curation –The are ±3M artists on Spotify. 73k artists generate 95% streams. Lots of undiscovered gems. How can we programmatically surface great talent, to the fans who would love them?

9/ Security & Crowd Management –Music is communal and best shared live. 70M+ US fans attended concerts last year. We want to keep them safe, engaged, and happy. How do we do that, leveraging best-in-class physical and digital security?

10/ Social Platforms & Games – “The next big thing will start out looking like a toy.” This is especially true with music experiences, as it has major impact on culture. See @Harmonix’s @RockBand and Musical.ly @tiktok_us. What can we build that packages music and social / gaming experiences?

Building something in these interest areas? Maybe something else that touches music, live events, or media? Love to chat. Text me @ 323-538-3935.

At Techstars, we are on a mission to help entrepreneurs succeed. Over the past 11 years we have helped over 1,500 companies grow and raise over $5.5 billion in funding, with a market cap of $13.9 billion. Now we’re on a search for the next wave of companies to join our worldwide network!

We currently have applications open for Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator programs around the world. Join our program staff for an evening of networking, Q&A, and a chance to show us what you’re currently working on. They will be there to connect with you, inspire you, answer your questions and tell you more about our programs.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:

5:00pm – Doors open, food and drinks served

5.30pm – Techstars Presentation

6.00pm – Question Time

6.15pm – Open Networking
Event ends 7.00pm

ALREADY KNOW THAT TECHSTARS IS A GOOD FIT FOR YOU?Apply for Office Hours, a 30-minute session on the day of, the day before or after the Meet and Greet Event, where you meet one-on-one with

Concord Music, RecoChoku and Royalty Exchange join Warner Music Group, Harmonix Music Systems, Q Prime Management, Bill Silva Entertainment, Silva Artist Management, and Sony Music in supporting startups building new solutions for the music business

A big part of the Techstars Music Accelerator strategy is our deep cooperation with the global music business. We believe cooperation produces greater return on investment. Today, we are thrilled to announce the addition of three new member companies for Techstars Music 2018: Concord Music, RecoChoku, and Royalty Exchange.

Techstars Music members provide more than capital, they actually run the program with us: helping at every step of the process, from selection to mentoring to business development and even follow-on investment. Their diversity of skills and talent help the startups in our program gain real global advantage.

Here’s a little bit of info about our new members, and what they’ll bring to Techstars Music 2018:

Concord Music was formed at the beginning of 2015 from the merger of Concord Music Group, one of the world’s leading independent record companies, and The Bicycle Music Company, a premier independent music publisher. Since merging, Concord Music has made a number of acquisitions and strategic investments in other music publishing and record companies, and is now one of the largest integrated music publishing and record companies in the world, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Cleveland, London and Berlin. Concord Music will add an independent label and publisher perspective to the program, while also offering startups access to a deep and diverse set of mentors from their executive ranks.

RecoChoku is perfectly positioned to offer Techstars Music startups insight and opportunity into Japan, currently the No. 2 music market on Earth. In addition to its on-demand streaming and download services, RecoChoku is also expanding into artist development and support, live events and a new music experience business called WIZY. RecoChoku will work with Techstars Music startups on international expansion, both during the recruiting process and within the program.

Royalty Exchange is the world’s largest marketplace for buying and selling royalties. Artists turn to Royalty Exchange to raise money and take control of their financial future, while investors look to them to generate income that’s hard to beat. Their experienced executive team, comprised of successful serial entrepreneurs based in Denver, Colorado, will work with startups on financial modeling, pricing strategy, fundraising and operations.

We’re thrilled to have Concord Music, RecoChoku and Royalty Exchange join us in recruiting, selecting, mentoring and investing in startups solving problems for the global music business.

We’ll be making our final selections for 2018 on or around December 15th.

What are we looking for? Techstars Music is for startups working on scalable solutions for:

In 2017, we invested in 11 startups (more info here) that have gone on to raise more than $15M collectively. Six of those 11 companies came to LA from outside the United States, a ratio we expect to continue in our 2018 class.

Is Techstars Music the right accelerator program for you? Take a look at our upcoming events here and request a meeting to show us what you are working on. Apply online here, with more information available here. Applications close October 15th, so get after it!

See you out there!
-Bob Moczydlowsky, @bobmoz
Managing Director, Techstars Music

Techstars Music invests in startups solving problems for the growing global music business

Techstars Music 2018 accelerator starts in Los Angeles on February 5, 2018, and right now we’re in the midst of a worldwide tour to meet founders who are solving real problems for the global music business. Applications close on October 15th and we’ll be making our final selections around December 15th.

In 2017, we invested in 11 startups (more info here) that have gone on to raise more than $15M collectively. Six of those 11 companies came to LA from outside the United States, a ratio we expect to continue in our 2018 class.

Why? Well, the world loves music, and music is driving digital culture everywhere. A big part of the Techstars Music strategy is our deep cooperation with the global music business. We believe cooperation produces greater return on investment.

Our member companies (and there is more exciting news to come here soon!) are Warner Music Group, Harmonix Music Systems, Q Prime Management, Bill Silva Entertainment, Silva Artist Management, Era of the Engineer, and Sony Music. These global leaders provide more than capital, they run the program with us, helping at every step of the process, from selection to mentoring to business development and even follow-on investment. Their diversity of skills and talent help the startups in our program gain real, planetary advantage.

So, what kind of startups are we looking for? Techstars Music is for startups working on scalable solutions for:

Where are we going? Better question is where *aren’t* we going. We’ve already been to Mexico, Japan, Australia, Canada, Boston, Denver, looking for the world’s best technical and business talent… with 10 countries and dozens of cities still to go.

Is Techstars Music the right accelerator program for you? Take a look at events below and request a meeting to show us what you are working on. Apply online here, with more information available here. Applications close October 15th, so get after it!

See you out there!
-Bob Moczydlowsky, @bobmoz
Managing Director, Techstars Music

Are you ready to accelerate your company? At Techstars, we have applications open for 10 programs around the world: From Boulder to Dubai, Austin to Boston, NYC to Seattle and Anywhere in between (Including Techstars Anywhere, our mostly-virtual accelerator)!

Please join Ryan Kuder, Techstars Program Director from the Techstars Anywhere, Bob Moczydlowsky, Managing Director from Techstars Music, and Jen Nicholas, Program Director for Techstars Music accelerators for an afternoon of networking, an AMA, and more. Techstars MDs and staff will be there to meet you, answer your questions and tell you more about the Techstars Mentorship Driven Accelerator program.

At Techstars, we are on a mission to help entrepreneurs succeed. Over the past 10 years we have helped over 1,000 companies grow and raise over $3.5 billion in funding, with a market cap of $9.6 billion. Applications are open for 10 global Techstars accelerator programs, and we’re on a search for the next wave of companies to join our worldwide network!